New Buxton mobile phone tower switched on
Poor phone reception in Buxton is set to improve with establishment of a new mobile phone tower.
The tower has now been switched on and is located near the village’s NSW Rural Fire Service shed.
Buxton resident Frances Taylor said the new tower had improved phone reception at her home.
“I used to have to go outside to make a call,” the 72-year-old said.
“It’s a great convenience to have this service and my neighbours feel the same way.”
To continue reading the article: click here. (wollondillyadvertiser.com.au)
Tower boosts connectivity
A new mobile base station in Mt Barker has improved coverage for local residents, businesses and services at the Mt Barker Hospital.
The base station, located at the corner of Lord Street and Short Street, is part of the $75 million investment program by Telstra to boost coverage and connectivity in regional communities.
Telstra area general manager Boyd Brown thanked the assistance of the Shire of Plantagenet and the Great Southern Development Commission for their support in the approvals process.
To continue reading the article: click here. (thewest.com.au)
Optus to retire Vividwireless
Customers shifted to Optus-branded service.
Optus is set to close Vividwireless, one of Australia’s earliest wireless internet operators, in April 2019.
The telco said on Vividwireless’s website that services would continue, but as an Optus-branded product.
“In recent years, this service has been delivered through the Optus 4G Plus network,” it said.
“We have now decided to close the Vividwireless business and Vividwireless will cease to provide services from April 2019.
To continue reading the article: click here. (itnews.com.au)
NBN Co may have to pay users stuck in congested wireless cells
Also tries to call time on 'blame game' around fixing faults.
NBN Co is facing the prospect of paying rebates to users in congested wireless cells, as well as daily rebates where any network connection is dogged by a fault for a long time.
The ideas are raised by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in a new consultation paper released today.
The paper forms an expansion of the ACCC’s wholesale service standards inquiry launched at the end of 2017, which has already seen NBN Co agree to pay out rebates to retail service providers where connections don’t go to plan.
To continue reading the article: click here. (itnews.com.au)
Better mobile coverage on way for Optus customers in Blue Mountains
Winmalee residents are set to enjoy improved mobile phone coverage from the new year when Optus joins the existing Telstra tower at Summerhayes Park.
“This new Optus mobile site in Winmalee is expected to be live after Christmas and will improve reception for calls and texts and offer enhanced mobile services – such as internet browsing, news, finance, weather and traffic updates – for our customers in the area,” said an Optus spokeswoman.
“In assessing locations for new mobile sites, Optus uses customer feedback and our own analysis to identify the best area to ensure improved voice and data services for customers. In this instance Optus will co-locate on an existing site at Winmalee to minimise visual impact to the surrounding landscape.”
To continue reading the article: click here. (bluemountainsgazette.com.au)
World’s first commercial 5G device demonstrated by Telstra
Ok, It’s time to concede that 5G is very real. Today I saw with my own eyes at HTC Mobile Hotspot device connect to a 5G network which Telstra say is a world first – so, it’s happening folks.
Telstra have been banging on about 5G for a while now, rightly – it’s critical to their future. But we’re on the cusp of a genuine reality here with Telstra showing not some bulky test device, but a real commercial device connecting to their 5G network.
To continue reading the article: click here. (eftm.com)
Free market failure: Call for government to fund better regional comms
A government-commissioned review of the state of telecommunications in regional Australia has concluded that maximising economic opportunities in remote parts of the nation will require investing hundreds of millions of dollars in building new infrastructure.
The review panel found that “there is little to no free market drivers to stimulate the change required in the telecommunications industry’s capital focus”.
“In our view, co-investment is the only way that these infrastructure improvements will be possible at the scale that is required,” the 2018 Regional Telecommunications Review states.
To continue reading the article: click here. (computerworld.com.au)
Regional Telecommunications Review calls for change
AN INDEPENDENT report into regional telecommunications has put forward ten key recommendations aimed at improving access and protecting consumers in regional, rural and remote Australia.
Conducted every three years, the authors of the Regional Telecommunications Review called for increased quality of access to both broadband internet services and mobile telephony in regional, rural and remote areas to drive economic and social improvements.
The report identified tourism and agricultural, major drivers for regional economic prosperity, were currently suffering from a lack of transparency regarding future access to services and the quality they could expect.
To continue reading the article: click here. (queenslandcountrylife.com.au)
Salmon Holes mobile tower would ‘aid to rescue’
Improving mobile coverage at Salmon Holes would be a major boost to rescue efforts, according to Albany Sea Rescue.
ASR operations co-ordinator Chris Johns said he had been pushing for 15 years to have service upgraded around the coast near Salmon Holes, where 10 people have died since 2010.
Mr Johns, who has been involved in the rescue operation for each of those fatalities, said no reception at blackspots meant by the time emergency services were alerted it was often too late.
“When (a person) sees his mate fall in at Salmon Holes at The Gap, he needs to be able to make a mobile call from that position,” he said.
To continue reading the article: click here. (thewest.com.au)
Telstra is set to unveil its next generation mobile plans, but is 5G a revolution or just evolution?
It is said 5G, or the next generation in mobile communications, is a brilliant technology in search of a business plan.
Even without a revolutionary 5G application to unleash a flood of new revenues, or cover the cost of building the new networks, the big telcos are ploughing on with the roll out.
Business plan or not, it's the way mobile telecommunications have evolved.
Every decade or so a new generation, or G, is unveiled.
Generational change?
The jump from 4G to 5G may prove to be profound in the history of telecommunications, but for the average phone user the change will be neither immediate nor probably very obvious.
To continue reading the article: click here. (abc.net.au)
